Board of Directors Election
2011 Candidates
Leslie Bellavance, Alfred University
Leslie Bellavance, dean of the School of Art and Design in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York
Statement: I am honored to have been nominated as a candidate for the CAA Board of Directors. I have been a member for nearly thirty years and have greatly benefited from the services, publications, conferences, and advocacy provided by the organization. I am now interested in serving on the board because I would like contribute more deeply to an organization that has made such a difference in my professional life, while also working to communicate the value of CAA membership to others. CAA provides important leadership in the field. In serving as a board member I would work to facilitate and promote the association’s capacity to advance the history, interpretation, and practice of the visual arts.
CAA provides a key forum for the ideas and issues facing arts professionals and scholars today. To this I would bring significant experience and insight as a successful artist, teacher, and administrator, along with exceptional experience in community service. I would bring to the table a keen interest in implementing the current 2010–15 Strategic Plan. This plan’s vision articulates the importance of advocating for the arts, creating new dialogue, implementing new technologies in communication, promoting professional development, and encouraging organizational leadership. I support this vision for the organization and the goals inspired from it. I am particularly interested in exploring opportunities for advocacy and collaboration. I feel comfortable and confident that I can represent the association to its members and constituencies.
CAA is an organization that has much to offer its members, especially in these uncertain times. The field of art has seen crucial changes in recent years, particularly in the reframing of art practice and scholarship through a global perspective and the transformative impact of new technologies. Visual art is not only caught up in the trajectory of these changes, but it is also in a key position to provide insight and innovation. With this in mind, it is always important to keep an eye on the interrelatedness among practice, scholarship, and pedagogy.
Biography: Leslie Bellavance was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. She received a BFA (summa cum laude) from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, and an MFA from the University of Chicago. She has exhibited her artwork in the United States and in Europe. Bellavance has received numerous grants and awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and a Wisconsin Arts Board fellowship. She received a residency for her book project, analemmic, which was published by Nexus Press in Atlanta. Bellavance has written and lectured extensively on contemporary art. From 1981 until 2005 she served on the faculty of the Department of Visual Art in the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where she was also head of the Photography Program, director of graduate studies in art, and interim associate dean. From 2005 until 2010 she served as professor of art and director of the School of Art and Art History at James Madison University in Virginia. She currently holds the position of dean of the School of Art and Design in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and she lives in Alfred, New York.
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How to Vote
If you have not opted to vote online, you will receive a paper ballot in the mail. If you have chosen to vote online, please log into your CAA account with your Member ID and password. Click the Vote Now link to begin the process. You may vote for up to four candidates, including one write-in candidate. Ballots with more than four candidates indicated will be void. No ballot received after 5:30 PM (EST) on Friday, February 11, 2011, will be accepted.
